by schoolcounselingbyheart | Jun 2, 2013 | children's literature, classroom lessons, Uncategorized
Lockdown practices have always been anxiety provoking, and are even more so since the Sandy Hook shooting brought the issue of potential in-school violence so close to home for students and staff. It doesn’t matter how many times you try to draw parallels between lockdown drills and fire drills – they are different and kids know it. In fire drills you are preparing to get away from danger; you take action to get yourself to safety and the “danger” only lasts as long as you’re in the building. In lockdown drills you prepare to hide from danger; your response is inaction, and there is no knowing how long the “danger” (even if it is only administrators checking for compliance) will last. Clear, simply stated discussions in advance of lockdown drills help, and now there’s a great resource to use when having these discussions with kids. (more…)
by schoolcounselingbyheart | May 19, 2013 | abuse, children's literature, curriculum, personal safety
My sexual abuse prevention unit for third grade is comprised of three lessons, which focus on body safety, trusting “yucky” or uncomfortable feelings, recognizing grooming behaviors, and the importance of telling about uncomfortable, scary, or dangerous situations. These lessons revisit and build upon skills and concepts that I cover in previous grades, but prior knowledge is not necessary, so you can use them as a starting place even if your students haven’t already had lessons about safe touch.
For these lessons you will need the booksNo More Secrets for Me by Oralee Wachter, My Body is Private by Linda Walvoord Girard, and Mia’s Secretby Peter Ledwon and Marilyn Mets. You will also need some drawing/coloring pages (more…)
by schoolcounselingbyheart | May 16, 2013 | abuse
Let’s face it: it’s not easy to teach lessons about hard topics. And there’s not much that gets harder than talking about sexual abuse, even when the subject is actually sexual abuse prevention. It’s a loaded topic. It’s scary, disturbing, and anxiety provoking. It makes some administrators nervous. You have to walk the line between notifying parents and giving a heads up to someone in the home who may be abusing a child. You have to be prepared for disclosures (and you hope like crazy that they don’t happen in the classroom setting.) The lessons might bring up your own issues (more…)
by schoolcounselingbyheart | Apr 21, 2013 | self care, This wacky job!
As a school counselor with seventeen years of experience, I can tell you: It does get easier, but it never stops being hard. I’d like to say that my month-long absence from the blogosphere was because I was on a fabulous around-the-world voyage, but in actuality I’ve been off on a storm-tossed odyssey unlike anything I’ve experienced in my entire career. You know that critical issues class you take in grad school that covers just about everything that can go wrong for kids and families? It was like that, except for real, and squished into the space of three weeks instead of scheduled into tidy, interesting presentations over the course of a semester. Whew!
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by schoolcounselingbyheart | Mar 20, 2013 | bullying
I am so proud (and a little teary) about a new bullying prevention video, Be an Upstander, Not a Bystander, that came out today! This public service announcement features my town’s police and fire departments, current and former students, and my awesome colleagues Franklin, a fifth grade teacher, and Amy, my counseling partner (and amazing first-year school counselor). Be an Upstander, Not a Bystander would be great to show students anywhere, but could also be an inspiration for your school and town to do something similar. (more…)
Lockdown practices have always been anxiety provoking, and are even more so since the Sandy Hook shooting brought the issue of potential in-school violence so close to home for students and staff. It doesn’t matter how many times you try to draw parallels between lockdown drills and fire drills – they are different and kids know it. In fire drills you are preparing to get away from danger; you take action to get yourself to safety and the “danger” only lasts as long as you’re in the building. In lockdown drills you prepare to hide from danger; your response is inaction, and there is no knowing how long the “danger” (even if it is only administrators checking for compliance) will last. Clear, simply stated discussions in advance of lockdown drills help, and now there’s a great resource to use when having these discussions with kids. (more…)
